The night is young. After a failed attempt to get her sister to come with her, Hinan sets off for The Nox River all alone.
Hinan: I can’t believe she actually made me come alone.
Hinan: Don’t worry Hinan. You’ll make it there and back unscathed.
While walking through the woods to The Nox River, Hinan stumbles across animal tracks.
Hinan: Footprints?
Hinan: They kinda look like fox prints. And there’s more than one set of them.
Using the hunting skills that her dad taught her, she follows the tracks diligently.
Hinan: I wonder if that’s what was screaming earlier.
After following them for quite some time, the trail changes from footprints to streaks of blood. Feeling a bit anxious, Hinan turns around to head back home but before she could leave, the sounds of those blood curdling screams could be heard. Although they are not as loud as the ones from earlier, they are still painful enough to immobilize unsuspecting listeners.
Hinan begins to lose consciousness. But all of a sudden the horrific screams come to a halt. Feeling a little dizzy, Hinan sits down next to a tree to take a quick break.
Hinan: I can’t stay here for long. If those screams start again, I’m done for.
Before she could take a decent break, Hinan’s survival instincts kicked in. Without thinking, she takes off running in the opposite direction of the village.
Hinan: Something is coming!?
Hinan: What am I supposed to do? If I keep running like this, it’s going to catch up to me eventually.
Hinan comes to an abrupt stop and faces her opponent. As she prepares herself for a fight, Hinan is attacked from behind. After successfully dodging the attack, Hinan is met face to face with her enemies. Not one, not two, but three Fodder Demons.
Fodder Demons aka Tributes, are bony creatures that resemble naked men. Covered with little to no skin, they are weaker than your average human. But what they lack in strength they make up for in numbers. If there’s 1, more are sure to follow. Although Tributes behave like wild animals, they are anything but that. They can only be found when a higher ranked demon is nearby.
Hinan: Tributes!? What are they doing out here in the woods?
Hinan: “Fine! Bring it on!”
The Tributes make the first move. They spread out to attack her from three different sides. Hinan coats her hands and feet in pink flames and prepares for battle. As they get closer, Hinan zeros out all other sounds and movements. Now it’s almost like the Tributes are moving in slow motion. She dodges the one from the right and counters by grabbing its arm. She uses its momentum to slam it into the one on the left.
Hinan ducks under the middle’s punch. Using an open palm strike, she blows a hole straight through its chest with her pink flames.
Hinan: That’s one down.
The other two Tributes stand up and begin to rush towards Hinan. She closes her eyes and thinks about a special technique that her mother taught her a while back.
Haruki: “I’m gonna teach you two something that might come in handy in the future.”
Haruki: “This attack is great for taking down multiple enemies at once. But I advise you not to use it against strong opponents.
Hinan opens her eyes and gets into position.
Hinan: Hopefully I can do this right.
Hinan begins to spin her entire body counterclockwise. Using the flames from her hands like a jet engine, she’s able to spin faster than normal. Eventually her entire body is engulfed in flames, creating a pillar of bright pink fire. The Tributes are stopped dead in their tracks, because they know that if they get any closer they will burn to death. Realizing that their death is approaching, the Tributes take off running in opposite directions. But little do they know, Hinan’s attack is ready to be unleashed. The flames that were surrounding her body have disappeared and are now concentrated onto her right leg.
Hinan: Haruki Style: Demon Flower!
While spinning, she gets on her left hand and releases a flying slash of extremely hot fire. Cutting through everything within an 8 meter radius.
With almost all of her energy drained, Hinan collapses to the ground. Meanwhile at the village, the residents are confronted by one of The Twelve Demon Generals. Standing behind him is a large group of fodder whose numbers range between 40 and 60.
???: “I’ll make things quick and easy. Bring me the man named Genesis Okami and I’ll be on my way.”
Coming from the back of the crowd is Haruki Okami. Hinan’s mother and the village’s protector. And with her is Hinan’s sister, Hana.
Haruki: “Who are you and what do you want with my husband?”
???: “Me? My name is Yami Kishu. The strongest member of The Twelve Constellations.”
Yami “Sagittarius” Kishu is a young looking man with short white hair, crystal blue eyes, and black horns that curve inward. He is wearing a purple coat with a white fur hood, white gloves, and black jeans. Despite his nice appearance, he is literally radiating darkness.
Yami: “You said he’s your husband. So that means you must be Haruki?”
Yami: “I never thought that I would meet someone as awesome as you in person.”
Haruki: “Cut the shit. What do you want with my family?”
Yami: “You see, Genesis broke a contract between him and the Demon Lord. And I came here to take his life.”
Yami: “So would you please a good little girl and point me towards your daddy?”
Yami was able to enter Hana’s personal space without her or Haruki reacting.
Haruki: Teleportation?
Haruki kicks Yami away.
Yami: “Come on. Don’t be like that. I was only trying to-
Before he could react, Haruki decapitates him using a sword made of light.
Haruki: 57?
Haruki uses the Demon Flower technique, cutting all of the Tributes in half.
Haruki: “Hana. Where is your sister?”
Hana: “She said that she was going to the river.”
Haruki: “Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?”
Hana: …
Haruki: “Forget it. I’m going to look for your sister. Be sure to keep the village safe.”
Before she could leave, Yami’s headless body jumped back up.
Yami: “You naive little girl. You’ve killed enough demons to know when the job is done. And yet you just stood there and let me recover.”
Haruki: How is he still alive? “How are you still alive?”
Yami picks up his head and places it back on his body.
Yami: “That’s simple. I’m a Dullahan.”
Without a 2nd thought, Haruki unleashes a flurry of light based attacks on Yami, but he dodges them effortlessly.
Yami: “Now that I know what your powers are, you won’t be able to touch me.”
Yami continues to dodge the attacks. It’s almost like he’s just toying with her.
Yami: “All of you light users are the same. You are so confident in your speed that it makes you feel untouchable.”
Haruki: “A demon like you has no right to lecture me.”
Haruki’s attacks are getting slower.
Yami: “You’re irritated. That’s why you’re getting slower. You aren’t used to people dodging your attacks.”
Haruki: “Shut up!”
Yami: “Allow me to show you something.”
Yami: “It’s true that light is the fastest physical object in a vacuum. Which is why light users like yourself are so strong. But there's something that’s just as fast as light. Sometimes it might be even faster.”
Haruki: What is he talking about?
While dodging her attacks, Yami raises his hands as if he’s getting ready to swing a bat. Haruki notices and decides to jump back. But Yami counters her escape by dashing forwards. Before she could defend herself, an obsidian color baseball bat materializes in his hands.
Yami: “Nightmare Swing!”
Yami swings the bat with all of his might, hitting Haruki directly in the face. The sound of breaking bones could be heard by all of the villagers. With the force of his swing, Haruki is slammed head first into the ground.
Yami: "And that my friends is why darkness prevails."
Yami proceeds to stand over Haruki’s lifeless body.
Yami: “Your arrogance was your downfall.”
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